In Boston fire, local residents lost son, Milton teen lost Big Brother

Michael R. Kennedy, 33, was one of two firefighters who died Wednesday as a result of injuries suffered fighting a nine-alarm blaze on Beacon Street in Boston. His mother lives in Cohasset and his father in Holbrook.

COHASSET - When The Patriot Ledger ran a story in 2012 about a terminally ill Rockland man desperate to see his son graduate from Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., Kathy Crosby was among those who stepped forward to make the trip happen.

Crosby, of Cohasset, said at the time she was moved to help cover the expenses of the trip when she was shown the story by her son, a Marine veteran and Boston firefighter.

Crosby’s son, Michael R. Kennedy, 33, along with Lt. Edward J. Walsh, 43, died Wednesday as a result of injuries suffered fighting a nine-alarm blaze on Beacon Street in Boston.

Both firefighters were assigned to the Engine 33/ Ladder 15 fire station on Boylston Street, less than a mile from the scene of the fire.

Kennedy had more than six years of firefighting experience. He lived in Hyde Park and was unmarried. His father, Paul Kennedy, lives in Holbrook.

Crosby and her husband, Kennedy’s stepfather, live on Elm Street in Cohasset.

“(The family) lives seven doors down from the fire station,” Cohasset Fire Chief Robert Silvia said Thursday. “We feel for the families and the firefighters in Boston and everyone who was their personal friends. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them.”